Today’s RieTales post is about “Bloody Rain” (also available as a single). It is the story of a young woman in Whitechapel in the 1880s. I bet you can guess where this is going?
I have been fascinated by the case of Jack the Ripper since I was a little girl. This story is something that I had wanted to explore for a long time. What happened to the Ripper that made him stop his murderous spree? Why five victims and then no more?
I had written another story about the Ripper, but it was a humorous take called “A Rip in Time” for Yard Dog Press’s A Bubba in Time Saves None! That was a lot of fun, but it wasn’t the story I really wanted to write about the case.
“Bloody Rain” is a serious story. Of course, it is still a “What if?” No one knows for sure what happened, but I like to think this might have been the answer.
If you would like to read more about Jack the Ripper and his victims, I recommend the following:
Complete Jack the Ripper by Donald Rumbelow
Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth by Bruce Paley
The Five: The Untold Stories of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
Personally, I don’t recommend Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert by Patricia Cornwell, because I felt the presentation was flawed. It is possible she is right, but I think she treats her personal theory like fact without fully making the case. It is interesting, and if you want to be a completist, read it.
Here is a long list of nonfiction books about the Ripper and here is a list of fiction (which oddly enough has a lot of the same books…) This is my personal favorite of them–Laura Joh Rowland’s The Ripper’s Shadow: A Victorian Mystery.
Explore the mystery and see what your thoughts might be. Let me know in the comments. I would love to discuss the case with other Ripperologists.
Rie Sheridan Rose 
Thanks… I’ll definitely give that one a look. I’m not really much for Ripper fiction – I’m more of a true crime buff – but I have been interested in the case for years. The fact that the killer was only thought to be responsible for five murders and yet has managed to inspire such curiosity and intrigue for centuries is definitely a factor in my interest in the case. There have been a few reasonable attempts at putting the pieces together: have you seen the documentary about Charles Lechmere (also called Charlie Cross) being the prime suspect? He was a meat wagon driver in 1888 and was the first on the scene at the death of Polly Nichols. There’s a whole theory around him being the Ripper because he always seemed to be in the wrong place at the right time.
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Thank you for the recommendation. No! I’ve never heard of Charlie Cross. I will look into him. 🙂
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